Mar 21, 2014

I am SO excited about the launch of Schwarzkopf's Essence Ultime by Claudia Schiffer range.

From Monday you will be able to purchase salon-worthy products at the supermarket or pharmacy. The Crystal Shine range is now firmly on my wishlist and I can't get over how great the Omega Repair BB Beauty Balm sounds. A BB cream for hair? Sign me up!

Claudia also helped to developed a new range of hair dyes called Blonde Ultime (alright I'll give it to you this time blondies! ;) ) that will retail for $18.99; much cheaper than a trip to the salon.

Mar 18, 2014

If you ask any of my friends or family, they'll say that I'm the most festive person they know. I get excited about Christmas in October, and then once the countdown to New Years is over, I'm already looking forward to Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day and Easter.

I don't need any excuse to celebrate life and little holidays along the way keep things interesting.

So in honour of yesterday being St Patrick's Day, I thought I'd show you how I celebrated.

- I started the day with a green beer Spirulina drink that I dubbed a Shamrock Smoothie!

- I donned a mint-green jersey.

- I dug out and applied a green eyeliner

- I gave myself a green manicure

The L'Oreal Nail Polish is in shade 849* and is called Vendome Emerald. It's one of the Color Riche Vernis polishes and is a gel-based formula with a built-in top coat. I am in love with the Color Riche formula and hope they never discontinue them because I have plans to buy more. The brush is so incredibly easy to use, it's rounded and thick so it nearly coats the entire nail in one swoop. The formula is opaque enough from the first coat and the finish is smooth.

I love Essie nail polishes but the brush isn't as good as the L'Oreal ones. I applied 'Going Incognito' on my ring finger for accent and topped it with Chi Chi 'Kim Wannabee Hilton', a gold glitter.

I'm trying to do my nails more often and I'll remember to show you when I do.

- I decorated festive cupcakes for family and friends.

I made some little 'pot of gold' cupcakes with a hole in the centre which I filled with mini marshmallows. Then I iced over the hole and put a couple more mallows on top. Just a quick, sweet treat for my nearest and dearest.

So that is what I did to make sure St Paddy's Day wasn't just a passing day.

Mar 14, 2014

If you read this post about my weight loss journey then you'll know that it's a fairly recent thing; however I've directed all my time and energy to make my life healthier and I'm seeing some results. I've re-joined my gym and I am LOVING it! I knew that I would try my best to workout at the beginning of this journey but I did not know that I would ENJOY going to the gym 4 times a week. I'm so happy with how everything is going.So I put together this little collage to show you what things I have been using and loving so far. Green Juice - I have been juicing up a storm lately (literally, Cyclone Lusi is probably my fault ;)! I enjoy going to the fresh food market on Saturday morning and stocking up on lots of delicious fruit and veges to make my juices and smoothies. I wouldn't eat a whole leaf of Kale, but I sure would drink it. I'm making sure to up my intake of nutritious foods and this is such an easy way to do it.Nike Free Run 5.0 Shoes - I'm in love with my Nike Free Run 5.0's and I'm so glad I made the investment last year. I've started doing more running interval training and these shoes are the best. So comfortable and light, really easy to wear and work out in.Pink, the Truth About Love CD - I don't always take my music to the gym but when I do, I'm always cranking this Pink playlist. The songs give me such a good push and it motivates me to continue doing something 'til the next song'. Do you guys do that? Think, "I'll just keep running til the next song?". It's awesome. I like Pink's older songs too and always start my workouts with 'Raise Your Glass'. Megan from Honey We're Healthy blog has such a great workout playlist that I'm working on creating - link.

Comfy Workout Pants - It's so important to wear comfy clothes to work out in so you can bend, flex, run etc and not be too restricted by tight clothes. I like ones that have some support (i.e fitted capri pants) but that aren't death-grip tight. I just means you might have to lose a couple of kilos before you can wear that pair :)L'Oreal Nail Polish - Okay so this isn't technically a 'fitness' necessity but I feel that if I look good then I have better confidence and just generally want to keep going with my workouts (weight loss) etc. It's important to make yourself feel good along the way so that you are happy with your decision to change your life and know that you can treat yourself. I'll be getting a pedicure next week and things like that motivate me to wear fancier shoes etc. It all helps to build up your self esteem and confidence. And lets be honest, if you have wet nails you aren't going to be dipping your hand into a chippie packet in a hurry! I love L'oreal Nail Polish right now.Weleda Birch Cellulite Oil - Remember back to my first post where I said I wanted to try anything that would help me look better? Well this comes under that category. I apply this oil after showering to legs and arms (sometimes hips and tum) with a Manicare body massager tool that I have. It really stimulates by blood circulation and hopefully is starting to break up the fat! I have seen results in the way of smoother skin and if nothing else it is a fantastic body moisturiser. I'm going to keep using it and see how I go.I've been trying lots of other cool supplements and things lately that I'm going to dedicate a whole post to. This is the exciting bit:Total Weight Loss so far - 3 kgsThanks for all your support so far. Please keep it coming! - Lizy xx

Mar 7, 2014

I've just gotten to grips with the launch of her delicious fragrance and now she has launched 12 lip colors. I'm particularly smitten with the third shade from the left called Scoundrel - a classic scarlet red.

Mar 3, 2014

On counter now is the new offering from Elizabeth Arden, the Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant Nighttime Miracle Moisturiser.

When I think Elizabeth Arden, my thoughts automatically go to the famed Eight Hour range. I've had countless tubes of the original Skin Protectant and lately I've started to dabble in some of the other products of the range. I have the day moisturiser for when my skin is dry and I took the Lip Protectant stick with SPF away with me to Canada.

I'm quite keen to try this new nighttime product which boasts lavender essence to calm and relax (and induce a peaceful sleep) in a hydrating gel-cream formula. Gel-creams are great for night because they absorb quickly and don't leave a residue on your pillow.

If I were being honest - which I always try to do on this blog - I'd admit that my favourite type of body care product is an exfoliator. There is something so satisfying about scrubbing away my dead skin cells and revealing fresh, new skin. It's pretty obvious now that I get really excited about good, effective scrubs and this one by Kati Kasza at Evolu is one of them.

It's best described as an invigorating, balancing and regenerating scrub due to the menthol, eucalyptus, lavender, walnut and kiwifruit seeds it contains. It's quite cooling on the skin so I prefer this in the morning or if it's a particularly hot/humid night then I'll use it then too. I apply it generously to damp skin as I think scrubs work better when you use a decent amount of it. I rub it in for a couple of minutes before rinsing.

It's very 'awakening' thanks to the menthol and eucalyptus and I have relied on it to wake me up in the morning on more than one occasion! It's a great product to use pre-shave as I find that it helps get rid of any dead skin cells that collect around hair follicles. I've always exfoliated beforehand and I believe it gives a closer shave, something we are always trying to achieve.

The exfoliating granules themselves (walnut and kiwifruit seeds) are quite round so I feel like I'm not scratching my skin; something I do get concerned about. The scent is uplifting and invigorating, I don't sense a lot of lavender in the smell (although it is there), which is good because I feel that would put me to sleep not wake me up!

My skin always feels great afterwards and like when I've exfoliated my face, I know that my body is best prepared to receive a good moisturiser.

This scrub has quite a following too, I saw it was featured on Stuff (stuff.co.nz) a while back in a feature on Colin Mathura-Jeffree's beauty regime. He raved about it, and if it's good enough for him,it's good enough for anyone. I know Lisa O'Neil (the NZ stylist) uses a lot of Evolu too and I think she may have recommended this to me at some point or other.

Kati has created a fabulous product and you can experience it for yourself here:

Mar 2, 2014

One of my favourite things to do in my spare time is to browse all the fabulous pins on offer on Pinterest. I always find new and inspiring things on there and I have recreated several ideas over the last couple of years.

I thought it would be cool to share with you a few of my favourite pins in a small series called the Best of Pinterest. Today I'll share a few beauty finds, but I have a vision of sharing fitness inspiration, recipes, holiday destinations, DIY, fashion etc. There's just so much on offer on Pinterest! And I'm not being paid to say that.

This look did make me run out and buy that Essie (Going Incognito) nail polish. I LOVE this look. There's a photo on my Instagram feed (@beautybylizy) of it. I could dedicate an entire post to Mary's nails as they are so amazing.

Step-by-step picture tutorials like this are great too, and there are an abundance of them on Pinterest. I love a brown/neutral smokey eye and this is one of my go-to looks. There are lots of hair tutorials like this on Pinterest too.

Those are my top pics today from the beauty category, I can't wait to share more of my other favourite pins too.